BBC Persian service conducting illegal activities: culture minister

TEHRAN -- The activities of the BBC Persian service in Tehran are illegal, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hossein Safar Harandi said here on Wednesday.

The BBC is among the many foreign media outlets that have been granted permission to cover developments in Iran, he told the Mehr News Agency.
However, there is a limit to how much “unprofessional conduct” will be tolerated by foreign media outlets, he added.
Saffar Harandi said, “Foreign media outlets operating in Iran are being monitored,” and if any of them commits an offence, it will be punished based on the media law.
Meanwhile, Intelligence Minister Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei stated that “some spy agencies” may be seeking to use reporters as shields for their espionage activities, but “no British nationals” have been arrested on such charges.
However, espionage activities will probably increase in the run-up to Iran’s presidential election, he predicted.
The intelligence minister made the remarks in response to rumors that some BBC reporters had been arrested in Iran and charged with espionage